Meet the paleontologist II: Gary Takeuchi

Mr. Gary Takeuchi has been associated with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County for much of the past 20 years. He is a curatorial assistant in the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, where he currently coordinates large projects related to the redesign of a new Cenozoic Mammal Hall for the museum.

A native southern Californian, Gary majored in Geology at California State University, Los Angeles. Before joining the Tibetan Plateau expedition crew in 2005, he previously worked closely with Vertebrate Paleontology Curator Emeritus Dr. David Whistler in the Mojave Desert fossil localities of Red Rock Canyon State Park, establishing one of the stratigraphic standards of geological ages in North America.


Subsequently, he got his start in paleontology as a volunteer at the Rancho La Brea tarpits and eventually became chief excavator of Pit 91 from 1999 to 2000. In addition to years of excavation experience, Gary's field experience spans the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, and China. He is truely a field leader who can run large field operations and ensure the smooth collection of fossil specimens and their safe return to research institutions, all the while keeping the fieldwork as organized as in a controlled laboratory environment.

Gary currently lives in West Los Angeles, California with his wife Karen.